İsrail' de bulunan 5 milyon yıllık ekosistemi barındıran Ayalon mağarasına ne oldu?

Konu: İsrail' de bulunan 5 milyon yıllık ekosistemi barındıran mağaraya ne oldu?

Prehistoric Cave Discovered; 8 New Species Thrive Inside

Mati Milstein in Ramle, Israel
for National Geographic News

June 2, 2006

Quarry workers digging recently in central Israel broke through bedrock and stumbled into an entirely new and unique ecosystem, scientists announced Wednesday. The cavern had been sealed off from the outside world for millions of years. When researchers entered the cave through a small passage, they found eight ancient animal species that had never been seen before.


Enlarge Photo






At 1.6 miles (2.5 kilometers) long, the newly named Ayalon Cave is Israel's second largest known limestone cave. The underground chamber stretches some 330 feet (100 meters) deep, near the town of Ramle, not far from the city of Tel Aviv (Israel map).
"The eight species found thus far are only the beginning" of what promises to be "a fantastic biodiversity," researcher Hanan Dimentman, of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences said in a statement.
Four of the new species are water-dwelling crustaceans. Four others are land-based invertebrates—creatures without spines.
Also found in the cave were bacteria that serve as the basic food source in the self-contained community.
As might be expected of species confined to a pitch-black cavern for millions of years, none of the newly discovered animals had eyes.
All were alive, except for a scorpion-like creature—the only known representative of its species.
Unusually, two of the crustaceans found in the cave are saltwater species. The two others are of a type found in fresh or brackish (slightly salty) water.
Today's Mediterranean Sea is a remnant of the Neotethys ocean basin, which was formed during the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic periods, about 200 million years ago.
The current mix of freshwater and saltwater species in Ayalon Cave may be the result of events that occurred when what is now Israel was covered by that ancient sea. Specimens were sent to biologists in Israel and overseas for further analysis and precision dating.

Hebrew University geography professor Amos Frumkin, who was involved in the study, describes the cave as "unique in the world."
The chamber is situated under a layer of chalk impenetrable to water and includes an underground lake that is part of one of Israel's two aquifers, vast underground water deposits embedded in rock, gravel, and sand.



The newfound lake, however, is different in temperature and chemical composition from the main waters of the aquifer.
Experts in cave ecology and evolution agree the discovery of Ayalon Cave is extremely significant.
Francis Howarth is an entomologist and cave explorer with the Hawaii Biological Survey in Honolulu. (See a photo of rare baby spiders found in a Hawaii cave.)
Howarth says Ayalon Cave can supply researchers with a treasure chest of new data on evolutionary ecology and biodiversity.
"This discovery is exceptionally significant regionally," Howarth said. It indicates "that there must be similar systems in other deep aquifers in the Mideast. …"
New York University evolution expert David Fitch isn't sure how unique the Israeli discovery is. But he says the new findings may help fill in evolutionary blanks.
"There are many examples of cave ecosystems. Many of these caves, like other geographically isolated systems such as oceanic islands, have a high proportion of endemic species found nowhere else," Fitch said.
"So the finding that there are several new species of invertebrates [in Ayalon Cave] is not really very novel," he said. "However, there may be significance with regard to helping … fill in the branches of the 'tree of life'"—the history of evolutionary relationships among life-forms.
The researchers behind the new study say they hope to discover more species in the underground cave. Hebrew University's Dimentman believes they will find live scorpions and predator species higher up in the food chain. Nesher Industries, the owners of the quarry under which the cave was discovered, says it will seek to preserve the ecosystem and the findings it contains. The cave is currently closed to the public as researchers continue their work.

Konu: İsrail' de bulunan 5 milyon yıllık ekosistemi barındıran mağaraya ne oldu?

News Release
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The Hebrew University of Jerusalemהאוניברסיטה העברית בירושלים
‏
Unique Underground Ecosystem Revealed by HebrewUniversity
Researchers Uncovers Eight Previously Unknown Species

Example of one of the unique crustacean species found in the cave (photo by Sasson Tiram)

Jerusalem, May 31, 2006 – Discovery of eight previously unknown, ancient animal species within “a new and unique underground ecosystem” in Israel was revealed today by Hebrew University of Jerusalem researchers.

In a press conference on the Mt. Scopus campus of the Hebrew University, the researchers said the discovery came about when a small opening was found, leading to a cave extending to a depth of 100 meters beneath the surface of a quarry in the vicinity of Ramle, between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. The quarry is operated by cement manufacturer Nesher Industries.

The cave, which has been dubbed the Ayalon Cave, is “unique in the world,” said Prof. Amos Frumkin of the Hebrew University Department of Geography. This is due mainly to its isolation from the outside world, since the cave’s surface is situated under a layer of chalk that is impenetrable to water. The cave, with its branches, extends over some 2½ kilometers, making it Israel’s second largest limestone cave. It is to remain closed to the public to permit further scientific research.

The invertebrate animals found in the cave – four seawater and freshwater crustaceans and four terrestial species – are related to but different from other, similar life forms known to scientists. The species have been sent to biological experts in both Israel and abroad for further analysis and dating. It is estimated that these species are millions of years old. Also found in the cave were bacteria that serve as the basic food source in the ecosystem.

“The eight species found thus far are only the beginning” of what promises to be “a fantastic biodiversity,” said Dr. Hanan Dimentman of the Hebrew University Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, another of the researchers involved in the project. He said that he expects further exploration to reveal several other unique life forms.

The animals found there were all discovered live, except for a blind species of scorpion, although Dr. Dimentman is certain that live scorpions will be discovered in further explorations and also probably an animal or animals which feed on the scorpions.

The underground cave includes an underground lake, in which the crustaceans were found. The lake is part of the Yarkon-Taninim aquifer, one of Israel’s two aquifers, yet is different in temperature and chemical composition from the main waters of the aquifer. The lake’s temperature and salinity indicates that its source is deep underground.

Among the interesting features of the discoveries thus far in the cave is that two of the crustaceans are seawater species and two others are of a types found in fresh or brackish water. This can provide insights into events occurring millions of years ago regarding the history of ancient bodies of water in the region.

In addition to Prof. Frumkin, who heads the unit for cave research in the Department of Geography, and Dr. Dimentman, others involved in the project are Prof. Dov Por and Prof. Aharon Oren of the Institute of Life Sciences, graduate student Israel Naaman, and several others. The Israel Water Commission has assisted in the research, as has Nesher Industries.


Yoel Feldschue, director-general of Nesher Industries, said today that Nesher will preserve the ecological ecosystem which has been revealed in the center of its quarry in order to avoid any damage to the important findings there. He added in that regard that he is hopeful that the planning authorities will enable the company to operate in alternate areas in order to help preserve the scientific site.

(Photos available via e-mail upon request)

For further information:
Rebecca Zeffert, Dept. of Media Relations, the Hebrew University, Tel: 02-588-1641,
or Orit Sulitzeanu, Hebrew University spokesperson, Tel: 02-5882910.
Internet site: http://media.huji.ac.il.